Glee Recap: Tears of a Crown

As a (mostly) adult man in my late 30s, my junior-prom memories are stored safely in a dusty lockbox with my Edie Brickell and New Bohemians cassettes and some VHS tapes of old Moonlighting episodes. So it’s pretty impressive that Tuesday night’s episode of Glee managed to vividly remind an Oldie Oldenstein like me of the thrills and heartbreaks and insecurities that kids experience as they pair up, dress up, and stress out for this magically overblown rite of passage.

That said, if it turns out you decided to skip this particular school dance (maybe you’ve got a taffeta allergy?) please allow me to give you the morning-after gossip — in the classic “here’s what you missed on Glee” format: When Air Supply backed out of its agreement to play McKinley High’s junior prom, Principal Figgins called on New Directions to be a last-minute substitute. Mercedes, though, admitted to an equally date-less Rachel that she dreaded performing at prom, seeing how she secretly wanted to say yes to the dress, the guy, and the damn corsage, but never got asked by anyone. The gals cooked up a plan to take Sam on a three-way date (“not the dirty kind”) — until Rachel’s old beau (and Vocal Adrenaline rival) Jesse St. James returned as a college dropout seeking redemption, or at least solace, with Rachel. The three-way became a four-way (still not dirty), but Finn objected to Rachel’s dalliance with a guy who betrayed her, until she said they needed to support each other’s dating lives and gave him helpful hints for buying Quinn’s corsage. In other pre-prom action: Brittany said no to Artie; Blaine said yes to Kurt (but worried along with Burt about Kurt’s kilt-ic homage to the royal wedding); Quinn dreamed of a prom-queen victory (in a stunning powder blue gown); and Santana and Karofsky campaigned for votes by continuing their work with the Bullywhips. Oh, and Karofsky gave a heartfelt apology to Kurt, but couldn’t deal with coming out himself. On the big night, Finn and Jesse got into a fist-fight; Quinn slapped Rachel for ruining her chances at the crown (but then the girls made up and came to a sweet understanding of sorts); and the McKinley junior class played a cruel prank on Kurt by staging a write-in campaign and naming him prom queen. Just like Justin on Ugly Betty, Kurt overcame his initial devastation to accept his title with grace and humor (“Eat your heart out, Kate Middleton!”) and then everybody took to the dance floor to celebrate. Except Prom King Karofsky, who couldn’t handle the truth. And that’s what you missed on Glee.

Now, before we get on to letter grades for the week’s musical numbers, I’ve got to dish the three best and three worst non-musical moments from “Prom Queen.”

BEST 1) Karofsky’s apology to Kurt: Whatever awards Chris Colfer and Max Adler get nominated for in the next six months, they earned ’em during this conversation, where Kurt wondered if maybe, just maybe, he wasn’t getting bullied because kids were indifferent to him being gay, not because Karofsky was serving as his security detail. Even if you had your TV on mute, you could see in Kurt’s eyes the decision to start treating Karofsky not as a former tormentor, but as a terrified kid struggling with his sexual orientation. And Karofsky’s break — his first true apology for bullying Kurt, and his first tentative step toward admitting the root cause of his anger — had me reaching for the Kleenex. Tell me I’m not the only one hoping Glee will keep journeying down Karofsky’s difficult road toward self-acceptance. It’s not the kind of character portrayal you see on primetime TV very often, if ever.

2) “Dancing Queen” Montage: I loved the way director Eric Stoltz interspersed the New Directions kids’ prom photos with those moments of joyous dancefloor celebration.

3) This bit of ridiculousness from Santana (who has officially snatched Sue Sylvester’s crown as funniest character on Glee): “Teen Gay, you may now proceed to the next checkpoint without fear of violence!”

WORST 1) Rachel cooing about Jesse being “so smart” after hearing him cop to not knowing the meaning of the word “recession.” Yeah, I know, Ms. Berry has a thing for dim bulbs, but no way a girl this driven and ambitious has pine cones rattling around where her brain should be.

2) Jesse revealing to Rachel that he got booted from college for not going to classes: “I just assumed it would be like at Carmel and the school would get some Asian kid to take math and English and scientific.” Okay, I realize once again that we’re dealing with the mindset of a not-so-bright character here, but sometimes Glee lays on the Asian stereotypes a little thick for my comfort level. Am I being hypersensitive, or is anyone else with me?

3) Sue threatening to violently remove Artie’s teeth. In another stupid subplot for our formerly awesome cheerleading coach, Sue was determined to not let anyone spike the punch bowl that her grandmother drown in. After catching Artie pouring a flask into it, however, she threatened to give him a “simple cleaning, which as anyone who’s ever been to the dentist will tell you is an excruciating affair of intense oral pain.” After an extended interrogation, though, Artie revealed he’d only added lemonade…which made me want to shout: WHY DIDN’T YOU TELL HER THAT RIGHT AWAY?

And now, onto this week’s musical performances…

“Rolling in the Deep,” Jesse and Rachel | Honestly, I was ready to hold up my “J’enough!” paddle the moment Rachel announced she was launching into Adele’s inescapable hit — which Adele covered herself on Dancing With the Stars on ABC’s Tuesday-night schedule, and which Haley Reinhart tackled on American Idol a few weeks back. But the a capella arrangement, the way the A/V kids provided haunting backup support, the interplay of Lea Michele and Jonathan Groff’s voices, and the mixture of lust and hate and confusion on their characters faces made this a pretty terrific musical moment. Still, shouldn’t a smart, attractive girl like Rachel have developed a strong enough sense of self-confidence over the last two seasons to flat-out reject a guy who did her so wrong, so recently? I’m a broken record on Rachel’s romantic foibles, I know, but come ON! Musical grade: A Relevance to the plot: B

“Isn’t She Lovely,” Artie | I thoroughly enjoyed Artie’s “Never Going Back Again” last week, but “Isn’t She Lovely” — which found Puck once again on acoustic guitar, while Finn and the guys used home-ec supplies as percussion — felt a little too similarly staged. Plus, wasn’t Artie all like “oh em gee, I am so done with Brittany” just last week, and now he’s all moony-eyed and trying to win back her heart? Not sure which mood I’m not buying, but there’s not enough room in my “suspension of disbelief” file for both of ’em. Musical grade: C+ Relevance to the plot: C

“Friday,” Puck, Sam, and Artie | No. 1 on the list of songs that need an extensive time-out from the pop-cultural roster, and yet, New Directions’ three goofiest guys covered it with such pluck and energy — and in complementary black, white, and red tuxes — that I almost forgot to hate it. Musical grade: B Relevance to the plot: B

“Jar of Hearts,” Rachel | How many wistful ballads can Rachel sing about Finn — while he’s dancing with/kissing/holding hands with Quinn — before she finally decides she’d be better off focusing on her history finals or her much-neglected YouTube channel or perhaps her upcoming X Factor audition? (You know she’s got to be planning that!) Okay, yeah, this song’s got more lyrical backbone than a lot of Rachel Berry specials, but those longing glances between our protagonist and her ex have got to either bear fruit or get pruned already, no? Musical grade: A- Relevance to the plot: B

“Dancing Queen,” Santana and Mercedes | If you’re going to play one last song at your dance party, you could do worse than Abba’s ode to that ethereal 17-year-old hoofer. I can’t say this was Santana and/or Mercedes’ most distinctive vocal, but the mood was pitch perfect. Musical grade: B Relevance to the plot: A-

What did you think of this week’s Glee? Which story arcs were you loving? Which ones did you have problems with? Sound off in the comments, and for all my TV recaps (including one coming Wednesday morning on episode 2 of The Voice), follow me on Twitter @MichaelSlezakTV.

I had no idea – that’s kind of crazy! He’s supposed to be this teen boy. But I think Cory looks young enough to just get away with the part of Finn, and he is great on the show. He & Kurt make great ‘brothers’.

Was is just me or did “Jar of Hearts” seem completely inappropriate for a slow dance at prom. Like the song and all, but I thought the whole point of prom was having fun and enjoying young love. I did appreciate that Finn got jealous, and it didn’t seem like Rachel trying to get that reaction like so many speculated was her reason for bringing Jesse. P.S. I think Mercedes and Sam would make a cute couple.

Thank You!!! I couldn’t believe it when she started singing that song. I realize she was singing it to Finn but it is a completely inappropriate song for a Prom. Certainly they could have found something better for Rachel to sing.

I think that you are forgetting who we are talking about here. I’ve chaperoned our last 2 school dances and this song has been played at both. Students don’t care about lyrics. They want a slow tempo song so that they can grind up against each other.

Not at all.My prom was 20 years ago, but our prom theme was Bon Jovi’s “I’ll Be There For You” which is a song of longing for a lost love. Teenagers, especially teenage girls, eat that sad, torch carrying stuff up

I love that song and thought Rachel sung it beautifully and I adored the longing Finchel looks BUT that said, I couldn’t help but think “this is a pretty angry/sad song to sing at a Prom, especially for a slow dance”

Stairway to Heaven was the closing number of EVERY dance of my youth (yes, the late 80s were still zepplin heavy), and that song is seriously dark. Jar of Hearts seemed just fine. Nice and self-absorbed, like HS emotions. Now,on the other hand, I’m nearly 40 and I still don’t understand Stairway…

My junior prom was 1987. Talk about not caring about lyrics, we voted Pink Floyd’s “Comfortably Numb” as our theme/main song. The principal vetoed us, and we settled for “This is the Time” by Billy Joel. We thought it was pleasant, but sort of lame. Seeing that “Comfortably Numb” is all about drugging up to numb the pain I guess we didn’t care if the lyrics were romantic or not.

Yes yes yes about Karofsky’s apology. That was the best part about the episode, in my opinion. He’s not even apart of the main cast but his character is quickly becoming my favorite. So, so much potential with him. Max is a fantastic actor. If he’s not in season 3 it will break my heart!

And I agree that Jar of Hearts was an awkward prom song, Corinne. Not the most romantic upbeat choice even though it totally fit for Rachel/Finn/Quinn moments.

The Kurt/Karofsky storyline has been my favourite in Glee so far. I’m glad that they are continuing it now and letting Karofsky’s character grow more! Glee was starting to get boring for me (while Kurt, my favourite character, was away at the other school).

Absolutley agree that Santana has taken over as funniest/snarkiest character on the show. Poor Sue has now been relegated to insane status. I know Sue is pissed about losing her cheerleading squad but you are honestly going to pull out a kid’s teeth, or at the very least threaten him? I know she has always been on the verge of crazy, but they have written this character to now be so unbelieveable that it is hard to watch. Santana and Brittany week to week have very memorable lines, Sue is hanging by a thread.Such a difference a year makes when Santana and Brittany were background characters for the most part and Sue was at the forefront.
-Best line of the night in my opinion goes to Brittany in regards to Lauren’s lemon mereingue pie looking dress Brittany says “You look delicious”. Heather Morris nails those dead pan straight faced insane lines as good as anyone.
-I would kind of dig a Mercedes and Sam relationship. It’s very different, unexpected and I think they have nice chemistry together. Plus Mercedes has needed a storyline for a long time.

I must agree that Sue is becoming more and more useless while Santana/Brittany have taken over as the comic relief but I think that’s how its been since the middle of Season 1. Sue was only really funny in the first 12 episodes before Brittany and Santana started getting good screen time.
“Just because I hate everyone doesn’t mean they have to hate me back” favourite line of the night.

That';s what happens when you write shallow characters. On the surface Sue was hilarious, but she’s a one trick pony. Adding the side story of a sister with downs and adding Becky to the Cheerios does not a three-dimentional character make. Now there is no need for Sue since Santana is a much bigger badass – AND she has amore interesting story.

I love Jane Lynch to pieces and she deserves better than what Murphy has given her this year. They need to revamp and provide her with a major storyline or let Jane go so she can be brilliant elsewhere.

I admit my exposure to Rolling in the Deep began after I enjoyed Haley Reinhart’s interpretation, even liked it over Adele’s version (maybe because I heard HR’s version first). That being said, when Rachel broke into it, I thought her voice was so wrong for the song, her crystal clear vocals made it unrecognisable to me. It started resembling the song more when Jesse came into the song. His voice had the rasp/texture I expected, that I sensed in both HR’s and Adele’s versions. Did not like this interpretation.

The Asian stereotypes thing, they can write gay characters, but struggle writing asian characters (or Mercedes for that matter), witness Tina and Mike, especially the whole “asian kisses, asian this and asian that” earlier in the season.

As someone mentioned above this is actually the John Legend cover of Adele’s Rolling in the Deep and Legend’s version is done acapella and it’s not bad (there is also a remix of the Legend version with a little rap mixed in but I didn’t really like that one as much). I just think this song in general wasn’t suited for Lea and Groff.

Yea, they completely butchered the song. Believe it or not this is my only the third time hearing that song (first Hayley, than Vicci on The Voice and now Rachel). I am yet to hear Adele’s original and i already feel the song is overexposed.

This show makes great strides in writing gay storylines. I’d appreciate them also taking on the challenge of writing afro-american in predominately white environment storyline for Mercedes and better storyline for Asians. Glee would be a great vehicle for exposing the viewing audience to others viewpoints. Also, would love to meet Rachal’s dads.

When I first heard this version of “Rolling in the Deep” a few days ago via YouTube I wasn’t super impressed, but I have to admit that after actually seeing the context in which they sing it made a huge difference for me. The betrayal in Rachel’s eyes when she’s looking at Jesse make the lyrics so much more true to the story, which for me, was a throwback moment to Season 1. My biggest complaint with the musical choices this season is that they rarely seem to have any connection to the plot, but this song fit perfectly into their history.

It’s not going to be my favorite version of this song, but I’m glad Glee covered it none the less.

Ok seriously, if we’re going to talk about overexposed songs we HAVE to also include Rolling in the Deep. I HATE that song!! But part of it is that I am so over Adele. Think what you want, but Rachel Berry is about the only person I want to listen to sing that song! She sounds like she’s actually singing and not freaking MOANING the words. Ugh. Such a stupid song!

Most of what Adele sings is actually more bluesy than Rolling in the Deep. If you’re willing, try listening to some stuff off her older album, 19. (Especially Hometown Glory or her cover of “That’s It, I Quit, I’m Moving On”)

I totally disagree with you on Rachel singing this one better, though. I agree with Tusk on this one, I think she just has the wrong type of voice for this song. Maybe Santana or Mercedes would have made me happy with it, but just didnt do it for me.

In order for me to get into Adele i think she needs to age a little more. I might like her when she is 25+, but for now she strikes me as hokey. A 21 y/o trying to sound like a 40 y/o vocally and emotionally is not something i buy into as a 37 y/o adult who actually went through the stuff she so cluelessly sings about in faux maturity.

Most popular artists, even blues artists, are young when they start out. Janis Joplin was 20 when she started recording and only 27 when she died. All the Beatles were under 20 when they formed the band and George Harrison was only 17 when they went to Hamburg. Eric Clapton was 18 when he joined the Yardbirds. Bob Dylan was 19 when he went to New York and had already been writing. Patti Smith was 21 she started out. I think if you see Adele sing it live (check out You Tube) you can see she really feels the lyrics. Some people are just old souls. And many writers and musicians are productive at young ages. Perhaps because of the angst? I think she sounds authentic.

I think the Asian this and Asian that stuff is funny, mostly because I know people who are exactly like Tina/Mike. Plus its funny because Tina knows its ridiculous and she’s always saying “Why does it have to be Asian?”

As Nicole said above, the Karofsky apology scene was definitely the best moment from this episode. I’d been waiting for that moment for a long time and I’m glad the writers are finally taking us down this path with Karofsky. I just hope that they continue to do the same in the future. Like you said, Michael, it isn’t a storyline you see very often on TV these days. And yes, Max Adler is blowing this character out of the water. He and Chris Colfer deserve any and all awards they get nominated for.

Unpopular opinion: I don’t care about Karofsky and I never will. This bullying storyline has been handled terribly. They have totally handwaved everything Karofsky did to Kurt and now he has somehow become the victim that we’re supposed to feel sorry for.

I can’t help but wonder how Chris Colfer feels about the way this storyline is being handled, seeing as how he went through similar experiences as Kurt… I know he has said he feels it would send a bad message for Kurt and Karofsky to ever happen romantically and I 100% agree. The thought alone makes me physically ill.

At this point I just want it to be over. If Karofsky never appeared onscreen again, it would be too soon, IMO.

I agree with everything you just said. I didn’t like Karofsky from the beginning. This storyline with him and Kurt is so, so wrong. Kurt should never, ever have forgiven him in the first place. Their trying to play Karofsky off as a victim and I’m not buying it. I don’t know how anyone can watch how he has treated Kurt and then just forgive him. It just seems a little wishy-washy for me. Karofsky can be sexually confused all he wants but that doesn’t give him any right to go around threatening people. I can’t wait for this storyline to be over. I like Max Adler but I just want Karofsky pushed to the background again.

It’s pretty clear they aren’t gonna push him back into the background. His eventual “coming out” isn’t gonna be the end of his story becuase he’s gonna have to deal with the same crap Kurt went through. He’s probably gonna have even worse time than Kurt because since he used to be a bully, his former victims are gonna wanna bring him down a peg or two. Like when Puck Shaved his mowhawk in season 1 and everybody treated him different.

weird i think the bullying storyline is the best storyline this season and i really hope we get to see redemption for dave and i am a kurtofsky shipper. max is a huge talent and a fantastic singer and actor his talent shouldnt be wasted nor should the possibilities of his charactor.

They didn’t wave everything he did. He took responsibility for his action, he was temorailly expelled, and he was even slushied. Kurt said it himself that he doesn’t hate Karofsky anymore because all he sees is the pain Karofsky is going through and he feels sorry for him.

He was expelled for like a day. Big deal. And the slushie was unrelated to Kurt at all seeing as how he wasn’t at the school then. The fact that you consider these things to be on the level of Karofsky terrorizing and assaulting Kurt every day is absurd.

The writing for this storyline has been sloppy. I think they had bigger plans for it at the beginning of the season but then Darren Criss happened. He and the Dalton story was supposed to last 3 episodes. Instead it took over the season. The writers clearly realized they didn’t have time to do the storyline justice and decided to slap a bandaid on it and say it was all better so Kurt could go back to McKinley where he belongs. So of course Kurt was going to forgive him. It’s just disgusting that he had to.

Everyone seems to forget who was the guy who assaulted Kurt everyday in season 1, throwing him into dumpsters, etc: Puck… he NEVER apologized to Kurt and yet all seems forgotten… who used to throw pee-balloons to Kurt? Finn… okay, he made amends, yet it took him a full season to change his homophobic views… why Karofsky can’t be redeemed? his bullying was bad, yes, but didn’t lasted for “years”, nor “months” (it’s stated in canon); what made it different was the underlying sexual nature of it, which was a serious issue indeed, but I think it’s being handled right now in the proper way: first by making Karofsky realize how bad it was (by making him face his own issues) and second by the impending start of the PFLAG chapter… the fact that Kurt proposed it was brilliant and show how he is looking towards the future, refusing to be a victim and instead helping to educate people, specially his former bully… that’s a very powerful message imo.

I so completely agree – 100%. I don’t trust Karofsky and I didn’t believe in his apology or emotional breakdown last night. It is simply not a believable, authentic plot line for him. I haven’t seen an incident convincing enough to persuade me that he would have changed this profoundly in such a short period of time.

Whoa, just whoa, you are basically saying that people don’t deserve second chances and cannot change, that is wrong to forgive people when they seek to make their wrongs rights, even admist their inner turmoil.

I agree with everything you just said. I think it’s wrong that they shoved everything he did to Kurt under the rug like that. He kissed Kurt by force in the lockers room and terrorized him for two years and I’m supposed to forget all the because he cried? Big deal. Kurt was so destroyed he had to ran away to a prep school for half of the season. Being a closeted gay jock isn’t an excuse for everything you do because you don’t accept yourself. It seems the writers couldn’t handle their bullying storyline. Also agree about the Dalton plot. It went for way too long and was pretty much pointless.

I would guess because that is his name. Haven’t you noticed that the Dalton Academy Warblers only ever have Blaine sing lead. I’d imagine the team is named after whoever happens to be the captain for that season.

I thoguht they were the Warblers as in birds (hence their mascot and crest). I figured “Blaine Warbler” was a nod to the fact that Blaine hasn’t been given a last name or really any life beyond (gay) Warbler Blaine yet.

I actually really enjoyed this episode. While Jesse is a complete imbecile I like the diva dynamic between him and Rachel. I also thought this week had some fantastically funny moments

“Go with God Satan….err…Santana” It is so great to have Kurt back at McKinley

“You owe America an apology for Run Joey Run” The self deprecating/tongue in cheek song choice references made me laugh. The one two follow up of having Rachel bring up how weird the whole egg throwing incident was also made me feel like the writers are listening to what the viewers are saying /griping about.

I agree that Rachel’s prom song was bizarrely morose. She could have continued the “I want you, you want me, let’s just stare at each other instead of doing anything about it” game while belting out a romantic power ballad, no?

Like I said a strong episode for this season–Kurt, Karofdky, Kurt’s dad were all fantastic. And Trouty Mouth was adorable asking Mercedes to dance in his bolo tie :)

Thoughts:
1) So weird – last week for some reason I was discussing with a friend who should sing Rolling in the Deep on Glee! I thought it needed a male voice so I had settled on Finn, but that didn’t feel quite right. Jesse St. James? PERFECT!!
2) Two episodes ago (before we knew Sam’s family lost their house) I was like “What is up with Sam’s hair??” Good to know it’s on purpose. Poor Sam.
3) Speaking of Sam, how cute with Mercedes!
4) I almost shed a tear when Karofsky said, “I’m so freakin sorry, Kurt.” At first I thought his tears were about him feeling sorry for himself, so I was surprised that it was about Kurt. His apology a couple episodes ago didn’t feel genuine (especially when Santana was mouthing the words along with him) but that really did. I officially like Karofsky! (Although is he REALLY the kind of guy whose going to come out while dancing with a guy at prom?? Let’s be real, Kurt.)
5) I pretty much swooned any time Blaine did anything.
6) Rachel tore the roof off Jar of Hearts, although how depressing for prom!
7) Jesse and Finn = lamest fight ever. What, did they push each other like 15 times? As a friend commented to me though, how very Finn.
8) Rachel and Mercedes = those were $5 Goodwill dresses? Riiiiiight.
Other Favourite lines/moments
Kurt: “Blaine Warbler”
Finn: “Dude, I like it. It’s like Gay Braveheart!”
Brittany: “Okay, that’s really confusing because this is a baby chicken’s house.”
Kurt: “I know that making foie gras would be a little morose, but I would at least like to graduate high school knowing how to make some kind of pate.”
Santana’s “Nope, didn’t just see that” head shake when a girl walked by wearing her dress.

So why was JBI standing behind Rachel and Finn when they were talking at her locker, when she gave him the wrist corsage idea? I figured it would be used later in the episode, but no. Something for next week?

Michael Slezac, I love your reviews, they are spot on. This is everything that I was thinking except better expressed. I especially agree with you on the whole Finn and Rachel drama which is becoming soo tiresome that I might have to stop watching soon. This is going to sound offensive but I think that only teenage girls who have some growing up to do could be fans of this couple. At 21 maybe I’m too old for this show?

Here’s my question…there IS no more Cheerios, so why is Sue still there? She obviously doesn’t teach any other classes, her sole job was as the Cherrios coach? Shouldn’t she have been let go from her job-that-no-longer-exists?

Ryan, let Jane Lynch go, so she can have a wonderful comedic career without being typecast as Sue forever.

i thought this episode was very rushed and almost none of the songs made sense. Another thing that bugged me was that EVERYONE but Mike and Tina had drama this episode. My two favourite characters a getting pushed to the side far too often.

How do you cover your own song? It’s your song. You can reinterpret it, but you can’t really do a cover of your own song. That’s like saying that Bruce Springsteen did a cover of Born to Run. Makes no sense.

Loved this episode – especially Karofsky’s mea culpa. But somebody please send Jesse far far away. I realize all of the actors portraying the high school students are well beyond their high school years, but Jesse easily looks older than Will Schuester! I agree with the poster who said Rachel’s voice is not suited for Rolling in the Deep. After last night’s “off the deep end” Sue Sylvester, I’m wondering if we’ll be seeing her roam the halls of McKinley next season.

I have a problem with Blaine’s background that I think the writers can’t seem to keep straight. First they said in that one episode that he never asked out a guy before. It was that episode with him and Kurt in that clothing store and him getting rejected. Now he tells Kurt he was at a dance (I think he said dance or whatever) he ask a guy with before and was made fun of so that’s why he didn’t want to go to the prom or something with Kurt. I really wish they would get the stories straight.

The writers seem to forget Blaine had no problem serenading and hugging Kurt in front of his entire school just a few weeks ago. Now he can’t even be seen with the guy at prom? But they’ll never mention Blaine’s bashing again. Blaine isn’t a real character, merely a plot device for Kurt.

Loved Karofsky’s sincere apology, and I think him not coming out at prom was very realistic. If he came out right then and there during the dance it would have been too cheesy, I think. I also think Glee missed a great opportunity with Kurt to show the school how fabulous he is. For a moment there, I almost thought Kurt would jump on stage and take the award in stride, but I guess teenagers are unpredictable. Almost every line in this episode was quotable. “I think you look delicious.” Brittany and Zizes yellow dress.

A bad direction Glee can go: Pairing up Kurt and Karofsky. I can understand Kurt’s sympathy for the guy, but there should be no romance.

I also don’t buy the slap/makeup scene between Quinn and Rachel…wholly unbelieveable. Can Rachel be less likeable when she’s that gullible?

The episode was worthy of a shrug and a “meh.” Maybe that’s because I can’t HONESTLY believe that high school kids really get THAT wrapped up about Prom. I don’t recall it being that big of a deal at my highschool…not that I’d remember it as I didn’t go.

I’m with you on the Asian stereotypes- on all the stereotypes in fact. They’re getting a little ridiculous. Of course, considering the continuity issues, the writers probably just forget how often they mention them.

Really loved this episode. Glad that nearly everyone had a major role or singing part (except Tina AGAIN). My two favorite moments:

1) The little sob in Kurt’s voice when he said, “I know” to Karofsky in the hallway. Let me be very clear. I am 1000000% against a Karofsky / Kurt romance and always will be. But I am in favor of the redemption of Karofsky. That scene was so powerful. Colfer and Adler are beyond amazing. The bullying storyline has been so fantastic. And the way Kurt turned a negative into a positive with the prom queen thing – SO important. Bravo Glee!!

2) Jesse’s voice on “Rolling in the Deep”. Lea Michelle can sing anything; we already know this. But I was mega impressed with Jonathan Groff’s vocal on that song.

I disagree with Slezak on at least one point. Artie’s “Isn’t She Lovely,” was completely adorable, and he sounded wonderful singing it. I loved that part too.

Does anyone else think there was foreshadowing in Quinn’s comments and Santana’s comments? Quinn said to Rachel in the bathroom after the slap, “There’s no way I’m staying at this school – I’m going to transfer” and in a split screen Santana said, “As soon as we get to NY, I’m bailing to live in a lesbian colony, or Tribeca.” Is one or both of them leaving Glee before Season 3?

This! I had no idea what half of the words to ‘Rolling in the Deep’ were before this episode. There have been countless songs on the show where I’ve gone ‘Oh, THAT’S what the lyrics are’. I’m glad I’m not the only one!

I agree. I am South Korean, and it was a funny Jesse line. Also a nice jab at Carmel High’s crazy show choir loop holes. I also thought it was hilarious that Rachel is completely swept up by Jesse’s show choir adviser job.

I loved this weeks Glee!! After watching several times last night…
Great points:
1. Everthing having to do with Kurt and Blaine!! The proposal to prom, the scene with Burt are was honest, amazing and funny. At the dance when Blaine didn’t hesitate to go after Kurt when he was hurting or at the end when he asked him to dance…all of it, great!!
2. I love the cast scenes, where they are having fun singing and dacning around. There were a lot of those so Kudos from me!!
3. Almost everyone had great storylines…poor Mike and Tina…
4. The return of Jesse St. James..love him
5. Great music.
Not so good points:
1. Where was Mr. Shue…no notice of him after his conversation with Sue and his butt chin.
2. In any school Quinn would’ve won. I still think she should have.
3. Finn not knowing which way to go. The writing for him makes him look stupid. Not liking that.
3. Not enough Mike and Tina. They always get the shaft.

This really was one of the best episodes. Well written and directed…Love the line “What about prom Blaine?”, Pretty in Pink…amazing homage.

I know this is a not-particularly realistic tv show, but the idea that >25% of the students would be doing a write-in prank without any word of that getting back to the pretty diverse Glee crew suspended my disbelief.
I was surprised during the episode at how little dancing Kurt and Blaine did, buy I guess that was to set up the payoff.

Just thinking – death next week? Not a member of New Directions – could Karofsky off himself because he can’t face his gayness? Or is that too deep for this show and Figgins or someone else easily replaceable the one to die?

I have to agree that Santana has taken over as the show’s funniest character. I do hope, though, that the writers reign in the character of Sue because she is becoming too absurd.

And, I would add that her development of Santana’s character (which is sporadic on this show) has been wonderful. Naya is bringing a depth to Santana that we often do not see on this show. Max did the same with Dave in this episode.

Brittana fans seem anxious for more progress with their relationship, but the writers said that this journey is about Santana not Brittana. I like how they are handling it. The struggle that Santana is experiencing is much more authentic than a quick fix/”on a very special episode of Glee” resolution. The arc, so far, has emphasized that coming out is a process rather than an overnight, instantaneous moment or decision. And, Naya’s work cannot be overlooked in this respect. She’s killing it in every episode.

Finally, Brittany is evolving into a classic Shakespearean fool: the wise, without often knowing it, individual who sees what others cannot. She certainly did that in this episode during the classroom scene with Santana. Props to Heather as well.

Oh my gosh. You are so right about Brittany, I hadn’t even thought of her as the classic fool. Great insight.

I, for one, appreciate that they are taking a while on the whole coming out stories for Dave K and Santana. I had a moment where I thought they were going to cheese it up and have Dave come out at prom, but thankfully, they handled it perfectly, his apologetic look before he flees the room is so perfect.

I’m actually not a huge Brittana fan, I think it’s just too simple. Yes, they’re best friends, and Santana needs to figure out what she feels, instead of pairing them together just to appease the fan base.

On a related note, I think any Kurt/Karofsky romance is completely out of line and unbelievable. After all the torment he put Kurt through, there’s no way that relationship should happen, at least not anytime in their high school career. And unless we’re getting Glee: The College Years, it’s something I never want to see.

Whoa, tangent. Naya Rivera and Max Adler bring something incredibly poignant to these stories, and, along with Chris Colfer, really ground these stories, especially in contrast with some of the sillier side plots.

Am I the only one who thought the harmonies in “Rolling in the Deep” were just awful? Bah. I hate that they change the keys for songs just so Lea can sing them–they raised the key in “Baby One More Time” and lowered it in “Rolling in the Deep” (at least from what I can tell). I don’t think Lea did this song justice AT ALL, and this is coming from someone who’s been a fan of hers since her Spring Awakening days. I love her and Groff together, but this song was just a fail. It needed accompaniment to do the song justice (and I know it’s a cover of John Legend).

I’m a big fan of John Legend’s cover with this arrangement, and I thought Groff’s voice was better-suited to this song than almost anything else he’s done on Glee thus far. But good lord, it was so wrong for Lea. 31 flavors of wrong. She sounded forced, false, and just friggin awful. I spent the first (horribly harmonized for Lea’s range benefit) chorus wishing I could strip her voice out and just listen to Groff. After that, I just gave up and hit mute.

I think Karofsky can just die. I’m not even mad about his death threat. It was the kiss that disgusted me. It was disturbing to say the least. Signed, someone who had been sexually-harassed during high school. But then again, my bully never actually apologized, so..

So sad that they wrote Sue into a corner. She is no longer funny. Just a maniac. Fix the writing or get rid of her. Really? Every week she wants to make someone’s life miserable? Ryan Murphy….It’s getting old.
I liked how they dealt with Karofsky. Hope they don’t abandon this plot like and continue to show his journey.

Did Jesse say the “S Word” in the “Rolling in the Deep” song? It totally sounded like it. The CC said “and I’ll lay your ship bare” (whatever that means) but it sounds like he uses Adele’s original word…

No principal with an eye on keeping their job would announce a guy as prom queen and he certainly wouldn’t make the second announcement asking for a dance between the king and “queen”! This used to be such a great show when the writers were addressing Curt’s gay lifestyle through the struggles of Finn and Curt’s Dad to accept him, but now that they tackled that; they aren’t going to stop until the whole world accepts him, and unfortunately, that’s just not realistic. By overly focusing on every gay issue, it seems like Glee has lost focus on everything else minimalizing other characters.

Rachel should have sang Adele’s “Someone Like You” instead of “Jar of Hearts”. It’s amazing, and it would have fit better with the plot. She clearly wants Finn back, yet she’s telling him that he will never get her back, even though we know come season 3 they will be back together at some point. Plus, it would have made up for their horrible rendition of “Rolling In The Deep”. The way these episodes are going, this is definitely going to be the last season of GLEE for me.

A couple things about this episode.. i didnt go to Prom but i longed to and even to this day (im 37 yeasr old) i wish i had gone.. so i understand why tv shows always make a big deal about prom.. The major thing that I noticed missing from the episode was Mr Schu! He was at the beginning and telling them they had to go to prom to perform but where was he at the actual performance? i would think that he as the actual glee club teacher would be there to help them along.. they couldve even given him a moment with Emma at the dance..

secondly.. i know a lot of people don’t like Karofsky because of what he did to kurt.. and i am definitely not downplaying bullying aat all because it is an awful thing in the world and people have committed suicide over it.. But all in all what did karofsky do really? There were just a couple times where he was mean to kurt.. but a lot of the football players were mean to a lot of the glee club kids.. and he did say he wanted to kill him once.. but even as he said it, the impression i got was not that he meant it but that he hated himself so much and i could just tell that he was gay even then… and i agree the apology that karofsky gave that santana wrote definitely didnt seem like it was real.. but i think that yesterday’s tearful apology was definitely real and he could turn into a likeable character.. if he had acted on his threat of violence then i would say there is no turning back.. but words between teenagers? if true apologies are said and both parties feel safe again, i think that people can move on from the bad stuff..